NEED TO KNOW
- Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride has added cutting-edge new technology to bring a skeleton pirate to life
- Imagineers used patented projection mapping on moving figures to turn a human pirate into a skeletal figure before riders’ eyes
- The ride officially reopened on June 26 after closing for a nearly two-month refurbishment
A swashbuckling skeleton has gotten a high-tech glow-up on Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
On Friday, June 26, Walt Disney Imagineering gave theme park fans their first look at a major update to the character featured in the treasure-filled grotto scene. For years, a static skeletal figure sat atop a cursed pile of gold, but now, his story is coming to life thanks to the latest in Audio-Animatronic technology.
Guests floating past will now see the greedy pirate transform from flesh-and-blood to a skeleton as he picks up the cursed piece of gold. Then, as the weight of his arm drops the coin, he is released from the curse and returns to human form.
Footage of the dramatic effect was shared on social media to mark the return of the attraction following a nearly two-month refurbishment closure
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“We’ve come up with this hybridized technology that combines a front projection with a partially mechanically articulated face, which together makes for these incredibly characterful faces,” Joel Peavy, an executive research and design Imagineer, says in a video explaining the new effects.
He adds: “It opens up an entirely new creative toolbox to be able to tell our stories. We can now have characters cry and emote in ways they just haven’t been able to before.”
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The beloved ride closed to make way for the new technology at the end of park hours on May 3. At the time, the neighboring Blue Bayou Restaurant also closed, but has since reopened with a “modified dining experience,” according to Disneyland’s website.
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The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and adjoining restaurant have been staples at the Anaheim, Calif., park since their opening in 1967. The ride was the last attraction to be personally overseen by founder Walt Disney before his death in 1966.
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The ride was considered a major success when it opened, prompting Imagineers to create another version of the attraction at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom park in 1973. Today, it is still considered one of the most immersive attractions ever created for a theme park.
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The attraction also spawned the massive film franchise of the same name, starring Johnny Depp. The first film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, premiered in 2003. Four sequels then followed: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), At World’s End (2007), On Stranger Tides (2011) and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).
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